Professional athletes are joining the book club trend, organizing literary groups for team bonding. In the NBA, San Antonio Spurs players Victor Wembanyama and Harrison Barnes are spearheading a book club to engage more teammates. Similarly, the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, including Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, and Ty Dellandrea, have a book club with a humorous twist of not disclosing their reads.
Athletes in the PWHL and the WNBA, such as the Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Toronto Tempo, and New York Liberty, are also embracing book clubs as a way to connect off the field. Toronto Sceptres forward Claire Dalton highlighted the team’s passion for reading, expressing how the book club evolved from her previous experience with the Montreal Victoire.
The Sceptres’ book discussions, featuring titles like “Gone Before Goodbye” and “The Heir Apparent,” attract around 15 players, fostering camaraderie over coffee sessions during the season. The Toronto Tempo, a new WNBA team, initiated a book club to strengthen team chemistry, inspired by the Liberty and led by guard Kia Nurse.
Nurse emphasized the value of understanding teammates through book conversations, finding joy in diverse interpretations of characters and plotlines. Reading serves as a crucial escape for athletes like Nurse, offering a refreshing break from the pressures of competition and a chance to explore different identities beyond sports.
The impact of these athlete-led book clubs extends beyond the teams, sparking community engagement initiatives. The Toronto Sceptres collaborated with The Children’s Book Bank for “Sceptres Storytime,” where players read to children, promoting reading as a fun and collective activity. Such initiatives aim to break stereotypes and inspire young readers by showcasing athletes as reading role models.